By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - At least nine people were killed as gunmen attacked the Pakistani stock exchange building in the southern port city of Karachi on Monday, police said.
The dead include four attackers, four Pakistan Stock Exchange security guards and a policeman, Muqaddas Haider, a city police chief, told reporters. At least seven people are also injured.
In a separate statement, Ghulam Nabi Memon, another top police official, said the heavily-armed attackers barged into the building through the parking lot, adding that a "clearance operation" was under way.
Abid Ali Habib, director of the stock exchange, said the gunmen stormed the building and resorted to indiscriminate firing on the first floor.
They also hurled a hang grenade, and the firing was retaliated by security guards, he said.
Additional police and military troops rushed to the site, and cordoned the building, according to the police.